Fast Change Lube and Oil teamed up with WEMM Radio in Huntington, West Virginia, in an effort to support the U.S. deployed troops. Fast Change customers at all 20 Fast Change locations gave monetary donations and also donated care items. With the help and support of loyal customers and the Fast Change team, Operation Soldier Care more than doubled last year’s donation of $11,000. All of the funds to Military Missions go to sending care packages to deployed soldiers.

Fast Change Lube and Oil president, Kevin Davis, presented a check to the volunteers of Military Missions, Inc. in Lexington, Kentucky.

Military Missions, Inc. is a non-profit charity organization made up of volunteers who support and honor deployed U.S. military personnel by sending care packages as an expression of appreciation and gratitude to the men and women who are providing safety for all of us.

Karen Weaver, United States Air Force Veteran, has volunteered with Military Missions for six years. She said she has walked more than a mile in the shoes of a soldier, and she lets that be her driving force to volunteer.

“Knowing that there are these men and women who are away from home, some of them not getting a letter or package or anything from home, and just knowing that we can bring some sunshine into their life at least for a few minutes,” she said.

Weaver commends all who support Military Missions in any form. She has been at the Fast Change Operation Soldier Care check presentation for the last three years.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Weaver said. “I was here when Kevin brought the check for $5,000, and last year they said something about it being a little bit more — and that was $11,000. Now, it’s $30,000! It was like, ‘Oh my.’ I couldn’t believe it; unbelievable!”

Fast Change Lube and Oil president Kevin Davis said, “Being able to sponsor the Fast Change Operation Soldier Care for the fourth consecutive year is a great blessing. It is an honor to aide Military Missions in providing care packages to the brave and selfless men and women who serve our country. All thanks go to our loyal Fast Change customers and the Fast Change Team who were able to make this donation to Military Missions possible!”

U.S. Veteran and longtime volunteer, Fred Doster said Military Missions, Inc. sent over 8,300 care packages to active duty military members last year, and he expects that number to rise this year.

“What we want to do is just make sure they know, we, American citizens, support them back home, because that’s what it is all about,” Doster said.

As an ongoing token of their gratitude and appreciation, Fast Change honors active military personnel and veterans with discounted services at all 20 Fast Change Lube and Oil locations.

VIP Tires & Service Raises Money for Schools

VIP Tires & Service, with 58 locations in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, is donating $6,070 to Lebanon-area schools.

The funds were raised through the VIP West Lebanon store’s “Oil Changes for Education” initiative, which launched during its grand opening celebration in August and concluded on October 31, 2018. The West Lebanon VIP store offered consumers $10 oil changes with 100-percent of the proceeds going to the local school community.

“Finding a way to get involved in the local community is important to every VIP employee in our new West Lebanon store and to every employee in our company,” said West Lebanon store manager Jeremy Weigel. “Giving back to the community is a big part of who we are as a company. This program has been wonderful and has allowed us to meet so many local residents. We want to thank everyone who visited us for a $10 oil change in support of our local schools and our children and hope they will keep coming back to VIP for all their car service needs.”

Lebanon School District superintendent Joanne Roberts and Hartford School District superintendent Thomas Debalsi visited the VIP West Lebanon store on November 28 for a check presentation ceremony.

During the six-week “Oil Changes for Education” effort, consumers stopped in for $10 oil changes, which VIP turned into $6,070 for local schools. The funds will be split evenly between the Lebanon and Hartford School districts with each district receiving $3,035 to help support curriculum and school activity needs.

ACE Jiffy Lube Represents at MDA Muscle Walk

On Saturday, November 3, 2018, ACE Jiffy Lube was well represented — with 16 employees and family members — at the MDA Muscle Walk of Miami. This event was held at Doral City Park in Miami, and over 500 people participated in the walk.

ACE Jiffy Lube has partnered with MDA to lead the fight to free individuals and the families who love them from the harmful effects of muscular dystrophy, ALS and related muscle-debilitating diseases that take away physical strength, independence and life.

Mighty Completes Warehouse Expansion

On October 8, 2018, Mighty Product Center, located on Dr. F.E. Wright Drive, along with dignitaries of the City and County of Jackson, Tennessee celebrated a major corporate and municipal achievement with an additional 27,000 square-foot expansion. This expansion increased Mighty’s strategically located warehouse to 163,000 square feet. The event took place in an environment of smartly organized inventories of automotive aftermarket parts, products and lubricants. Responsible for the engineering and construction project are Ken and Jeff Brasfield, distinguished principals of Brasfield Construction Inc. of Jackson. Mighty president and CEO, Ken Voelker, said in his welcome remarks, “This state-of-the-art distribution center represents a serious commitment to our local labor force and our many friends in Jackson, Tennessee.”

The official ribbon cutting was attended by City Mayor, Jerry Gist; County Mayor, Jimmy Harris; Kyle Spurgeon, president and CEO of the Jackson Chamber; Ken and Jeff Brasfield; Tom Barry, former Chairman and CEO of Mighty; Pelham Wilder, former CFO of Mighty; and Mighty’s corporate officers, Brad Bradshaw, Josh D’Agostino and Gary Vann. Several notable “Redcoats” of Jackson’s Chamber of Commerce were on hand to represent the Chamber’s support. MPC’s Randy Birmingham, director of Distribution and Logistics, along with Keith Wilson, director of Operations, and Pam Butler, Distribution manager, all of whom run the warehouse, warmly welcomed their guests.

“About a year and a half ago, we embarked on our second MPC expansion that we are proud to celebrate today,” Voelker said. “What was the thinking behind the project? Half of the space is to store today’s proliferation of lubricants in an ultra-safe area with fire-rated wallboard, special fire doors and a huge catch basin to capture any potential spills. The other half is for our vast international shipments with an expanded staging area for container loads of Mighty product.

“We are also celebrating our 55th year in business. Our home office is in Atlanta, and we are just as proud to call Jackson, Tennessee, home of our national distribution center.”

Over the years MPC has been toured by several U.S. companies to study the operation. Warehouse Managementmagazine has extolled Mighty Product Center’s overall operation as a model of efficiency and working environment.

ACA Makes Headway at US Copyright Office

Based on a petition jointly filed by the Auto Care Association and the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), the U.S. Copyright Office on October 26, 2018, eliminated a limitation that only permitted car owners to circumvent vehicle software under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The final rule issued under the current DMCA’s seventh triennial rulemaking proceeding effectively permits third-party repairers to also access software on personal, commercial and agricultural vehicles that are legitimately owned.

The petition from the Auto Care Association and CTA was necessary due to the U.S. Copyright Office’s ruling in 2015 that limited the exemption from the DMCA’s anti-circumvention prohibition to the actual owner of the vehicle. The Auto Care Association had argued during the current rulemaking for the expansion of the anti-circumvention exemption to include third parties based on the fact that individual car owners often do not have the tools or skills to access software in order to perform repairs, thus limiting the effectiveness of the 2015 exemption.

The U.S. Copyright Office further adopted as part of the current exemption process an Auto Care Association recommendation to remove language from the 2015 exemption that excluded access to computer programs designed for the control of telematics or entertainment systems. According to the final rule, “the Acting Register was persuaded that, due to increasing integration of vehicle computer systems since the 2015 rulemaking, retaining this limitation may impede non-infringing uses that can only be accomplished by incidentally accessing these systems.”

“The ruling by the Copyright Office is a huge victory for the independent repair industry as well as the consumer,” said Auto Care Association President and CEO Bill Hanvey. “Once you purchase a vehicle, consumers should have the full ability to either access their vehicle’s software themselves or to have a trusted professional entity perform the work for them. We are further gratified that the Copyright Office eliminated the limitation on consumers and third-party repairers accessing computer program related to a vehicle’s telematics systems, based on the fact that access to these systems might be critical to the ability to fully diagnose and repair today’s and tomorrow’s advanced vehicle systems.”

Zig Ziglar’s Legacy Lives On

Ziglar, Inc., a Plano, Texas-based company, graduated its nineteenth class of eighteen Ziglar Certified Trainers on November 17, 2018. We are proud to announce that M. Kevin Davis of Inez, Kentucky, has joined the Ziglar team.

Photo courtesy of Ziglar Media

After some fifty years of traveling the globe, sharing his messages of hope and inspiration, Zig Ziglar has a following of millions from around the world. This class included advocates across America, from Glendale, New York, to Rocklin, California.

Ziglar Legacy Certified Trainers have been personally impacted by Zig Ziglar and his teachings and seek to carry on his legacy by teaching and training his life-changing materials. This training program is hosted and led by Ziglar’s family, Tom Ziglar, chairman and CEO of Ziglar, Inc., and Julie Ziglar Norman, vice president of Ziglar, Inc.

To take advantage of the expertise of M. Kevin Davis and to bring Ziglar-inspired material to your business or organization, contact him at: info@mkevindavis.net